Starting rotation decision should be easy one
by David Rocksteady 8/6/09
All of the Phillies talk these days surrounds one question: What will we do with the starting rotation? With the arrival of Cliff Lee and with Pedro Martinez ready to pitch, the Phillies have six potential starting pitchers and have a decision to make about who goes where.
It seems clear to me that the answer is to keep Happ as a starter and move Pedro to the bullpen. Although he was good in the bullpen it makes no sense to move Happ to the pen. I don't care if he is a rookie and it would be nice to add another left-hander to the pen; He might be the best starter on the team!
Almost everyone is in agreement that Jamie Moyer is not suited for the bullpen because it just too much for a 46 year old to continuously get up and get down in the bullpen. If you don't keep Moyer in the rotation, you need to put him on the disabled list, put him on waivers, or outright release him. Given his salary and the potential need for him with injuries, getting rid of Moyer is just not a good option.
The other option is to move Pedro Martinez into the rotation and move Happ. I realize that Pedro is a first ballot hall of famer and he wants to be a starter. TOUGH. Pedro has not proven anything at this point, so who knows what we will get from him. If he pitches well out of the bullpen, maybe we can consider him later. But at this point, there is no reason to replace one of your best pitchers with an unproven pitcher who can probably only give you six innings at best.
The final option is to go to a six man rotation. I don't think that helps anybody. That will just give you six guys complaining rather than one. Besides, wouldn't you rather have Cliff Lee pitching as many games as possible?
Seems pretty simple to me.
The Phi go with a six man rotation, put Happ in the bullpen, put Pedro Martinez in the bullpen, do "something" with Jamie Moyer.
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